Not only were people shopping online while they decked the halls, but it seems that nearly half of them were doing so from mobile devices; it was multitasking at its finest. Mobile traffic surged to record levels and accounted for 48 percent of all online traffic on the holiday.

HO-HO-HO SHOPPING ON THE GO

Data shows shoppers were not tethered to their desktops to snap up additional bargains, preferring instead to browse from their mobile devices. 28.5 percent of all online traffic was attributed to smartphones, putting the power to purchase in the palm of your hand – literally. Tablets clocked in at 18.1 percent of the traffic.

Given the increase in online sales, it’s clear that people weren’t just passing the time browsing and surfing the web while making the merry.

Smartphones proved great for browsing, but in terms of actual online sales, they could only claim 9.3 percent. Conversely, tablets proved to be the device of choice for actually making purchases, driving 19.4 percent of online sales – more than twice the amount of sales completed on smartphones.

Not only did tablet users complete more purchases, they also placed higher orders compared to smartphone users. On average, tablet users spent $95.61 per order, while smartphone users averaged only $85.11 per order. Does the bigger display screen contribute to the bigger spend per order?

APPLE TOPS ANDROID

When it comes to mobile shopping, it appears Apple’s popularity outpaced that of Android, at least on the day surveyed; the majority of online orders from mobile devices were made using iPhones and iPads.

For shopping, Apple’s iOS-powered devices were five times more popular than devices running on Google’s Android mobile operating system – at least for those Cyber Santas. Those iDevices were responsible for 23 percent of online sales in the US on Christmas Day, while Android devices only racked up 4.6 percent.

Users of iOS devices were not only surfing the web in greater numbers; they were spending in greater numbers, too. While Android users spent an average of $48.10 per order, iOS users proved prone to spending more freely, averaging $93.94 per order.

SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS DRIVE SPENDING

The days of making wish lists for Santa are pretty much a quaint memory of a time before social media. This year, people were spending a considerable amount of time connecting with their social networks as well as their families. And retailers were able to capitalize on the power of social media.

A good many online shoppers were referred to retailers from both Facebook and Pinterest, with Pinterest shoppers spending an average of $86.83 per order. Facebook shoppers trailed behind, averaging only $72.01 per order; however, Facebook referrals converted to actual sales at nearly four times the rate of those from Pinterest.

Regardless, there’s no doubt social media holds the power to sway spending decisions – especially when you get to post pictures of your new purchases in your status update for all to see.